Underrail

Dev Log #24: Combat Initiative

Hey, guys. We're still hard at work at producing new content for the next version. And while I'm not ready to show the new areas yet (except the attached teaser screenshot), there are a couple of smaller changes I wanted to talk about.

The most significant change to the combat mechanics is the addition of initiative. Character's base initiative is determined like this: 5 + agility + dexterity. At the start of the combat, each combat participant randomly adds 1-15 points to the base initiative and the modified value is used when sorting the turn order. The only exception is when the player initiates combat manually (by pressing ENTER) or by simply attacking. In this case the player will always act first, but because of this, the AP cost of the opening attack/action will be deducted from his first turn. Additionally, this also applies to some other non-combat action performed just before entering combat, such as opening doors.

Also, player will no longer be able to quickly initiated combat manually when exiting a dialog to get a jump on their enemies, but I will be going through all situations that involve dialog initiated combat to make sure the player receives appropriate initiative bonus depending on the situation. That is, if you are having a dialog with someone who is already wary of you (such as GMS hostage situation) you do not get any initiative bonus (though you still "roll" standard initiative and may in fact play first), while in situation in which you surprise attack someone through a dialog you will get a substantial initiative bonus, effectively granting you first strike.

I think it's pretty clear what the purpose of this change is - I want to remove the ability (and the need) to "cheese" your way into attacking first, while providing a game mechanic that will allow you to do this in a more meaningful way instead using your reflexes. I think these changes will particularly benefit non-stealth characters who are often hard pressed to survive when ambushed by multiple attackers. For now the initiative is only dependent on the start mentioned above, but later on I plan to add feats/abilities/psi that will allow you to increase this base value. I'm also considering adding initiative modifiers to weapons.

In other news:

UI

Added a confirmation box when changing video settings

Added an option to scroll with mouse while holding the right button

Added an option to lock the mouse to screen in fullscreen mode (doesn't work perfectly though, sorry)

You can double click on your (non-existing) portrait to center back to your character

Game window will no longer process input while inactive

Tweaks

Shroomhead feat now restores 15 psi points each time you pick a mindshroom

Reduced base trap arming time to 7 seconds

Reduced the range at which the traps trigger when you step into their tile (should be more consistent with visual collision now)

Added bear trap - a cheap early game trap that deals mechanical damage, roots the target and inflicts a bleeding wound; like caltrops, it can be envenomed

Added serrated crossbow bolt that deals additional 100% of original damage dealt through a bleeding wound over 3 turns, but incurs even greater damage threshold penalty than a regular bolt

Weapons can now have varying base critical damage bonuses (for now only depending on the weapon base type, but in the future modifiable through enhancements)

Let me know what you think about the balance changes and the new mechanics. Sorry that I can't give you guys a date of the next update, but what I can say is that development speed is picking up again and we're planning to release a new town in the next update as well as bunch of new enemy types.

I have mixed feelings about the Shroomhead re-execution. I think it's a necessary change, so as to remove the way the previous behavior set up a system of perverse incentives where the greatest payoff, as a psionic, is in enduring an incredibly tedious fight/run-many-screens/recharge cycle. A game that gives players the greatest mechanical rewards in exchange for boring themselves to tears is always in serious trouble. Given how hard it was to play a psionic build even suffering through that cycle, though, I'm concerned that a trade has been made of effectiveness-through-tedium for complete ineffectiveness.

Yay!! Ikr im kinda late to post in here haha. Looks and sounds great Styg, keep up the good work.

So the Shroomhead perk no longer regens you to 40% psi? Thats to bad and thats my only dissapointment I guess with this update. The PSI class was already pretty difficult early on and it really helped being able to run back to shrooms to recharge near certain battle areas. Doesnt sound like we shoud even bother getting the perk Shroomhead now. Hope Im just reading this wrong anyway I will try the new update before making up my mind about ditching the Shroomhead perk for good.

@dmonin They will work to an extent. You'll probably be able to visit most new areas, but your quests will probably be messed up or at a dead end.

@Fusei I'll pay close attention to the durability during the next version internal testing as I did a few minor changes to it. It probably needs more tweaking (as many things balance wise in the game), though I disagree with your statement that it's game breaking. The weapons certainly do not break down in a few hits.

@Kalistro That's not a bad idea generally, though in a game like this where the player has limited view of the battleground (fog of war) I'm not sure how useful this would be. I have a couple other idea how player could be allowed to get more awareness of his enemy behavior, but I won't talk about that until it's implemented (if it gets implemented).

I like the new combat initiative. It will certainly change the way i would "cheese" through some parts of the game.

I haven't play the game in a while, because i've been waiting for an update.

Does anyone know if there is a way to see the enemies movement/sight range in the game? I'm currently playing fire emblem awakening ( think FF Tactics if you haven't played this), and i like how you can see the movement/attack ranges of different units. If this isn't in UR, i think it would be a good addition to the game as it would take out the "guess work" in the game and add another layer of strategy to it. Maybe even some sort of psi power or utility device that will allow one to see the vision/movement/attack range of the enemy.

Anyways, good work Styg. I like everything your doing with the game so far man.

Got to see how the initiative works out but it looks like really nice. I was hoping to see something like this.

I'm not sure that the Shroomhead nerf was necessary, I know you want everything to be based on ressource and nothing "free" but it'll make the early stage of a dedicated psi user tedious as hell (at least a lot more than other builds).

A part from that if I could just say a word about the item durability, I find that, in its currents state, it's gamebreaking. Having my sledgehammer rendered useless after a few hits is hard to conceive. I know that you said that your main priority wasn't realism but the gameplay. But even for the sake of gameplay I feel it's too extreme atm and drive the fun out of it (at least for me). I believe a middle ground can be found.I'd really love to see a change in that so that I could go back testing the game.